My cat was hit by a car quite a while ago and he's paw/lower leg is paralyzed. We were thinking of having it amputated and took him to a feline only vet. The first initial visit/xrays and cleaning of his wound (he started using his elbow as a crutch so the fur and skin rubbed off) came out to about $500.

We decided to ask about amputation and were quoted close to $4000. Now I don't expect it to be cheap and probably at least $2K but is this cost normal?

end user

January 9th, 2013, 04:55 PM

After doing some reading the price I was quoted seems to be on the UPPER scale of cost. $2K I can swallow 4 is a bit much.

Longblades

January 10th, 2013, 04:38 PM

I don't know about cost but your title gives me the impression you are considering amputating only part of the leg? Because of the "crutch" problem you have already encountered sometimes the whole leg is removed to prevent that happening. Did you discuss that with your Vet?

end user

January 10th, 2013, 05:11 PM

I don't know about cost but your title gives me the impression you are considering amputating only part of the leg? Because of the "crutch" problem you have already encountered sometimes the whole leg is removed to prevent that happening. Did you discuss that with your Vet?

They told me there were two options, one to remove the whole limb at the body the other just to the next section down.

I did a lot of reading yesterday on the cost and there's quite a bit of price difference. Its range anywhere from $300 to $2K but never to $4K.

If it came to it I'd pay the $4K if it was a life death situation or a standard cost of an amputation but I'm thinking I'm getting shafted here. I did take the cat to a "feline" only vet thinking I'd get a more elaborate diagnosis but I guess time to go back to my regular vet who has been really good to us.

My current vet has sane prices, when I took my cat to the only local emergency room (2am) it was $1500 after 6 hours. 6 hours later we transferred him to our regular vet and three days later he only changed us $380 (not including x-rays which were done at the previous place)

I understand a vet is a business like any other but if I"m getting gauged screw them.

theivorykitty

January 11th, 2013, 07:45 PM

The price you've been quoted is high, for sure. You might want to seek out a different vet.

My cat, Fang, had his front left leg amputated about two months ago because of a tumor in his shoulder. I am looking for the bills (a few others have asked about price) but I would say, in the end, I spent about $2,000 ish all together. This included two X-Rays (one to see the tumor, and other to check his lungs for cancer spread), the surgery, and a night stay at the vets. Also we had pain medications, and Gabapentin to administer to him before the surgery (to prevent phantom limb pain in the future). We really went "all out" for him, and we didn't go anywhere near $4,000. And I would have spent that, so it didn't have anything to do with me looking for cheaper prices.

So yeah, a different vet might be the best option. Do note, though, that there are some major differences in the way that vets treat pain and you want to find a vet that will try to prevent pain from occurring rather than just treating the pain once it has occurred. This will make a huge difference in recovery and your cat's life after surgery, and many vets don't have that perspective. It's kind of scary. Talk to your vet at length about it before the surgery.

If you want to know more about Fang's amputation, check out the blog I set up to help people in what is a really scary process: http://cldavis.tripawds.com/ . You'll also find the blogs of two other kitty amputation (rear leggers, rather than front leggers) on the links to the right of that blog. Let me know if you have any questions! It's scary but it's totally worth it in the end.

Oh, about keeping the stub of the other leg -- A lot of vets remove the WHOLE leg to prevent the kitty from damaging himself/herself, etc. I have talked to a few owners who kept the remainder of the legs, and the cat's seem to be fine. Fang cannot easily clean the left side of his face without using other misc objects (furniture, floor), and he probably would be able to do so if he had some arm left. However, I would worry about him getting it caught in something, cutting it open, or who knows what. Really cat's do so amazingly well on three legs, you probably don't need to worry no matter which you choose.

Hope this helps!

end user

January 14th, 2013, 02:23 PM

So I got a quote from another local vet where I took Jake to and I was quoted $869 for the amputation vs alomst $4k from the "feline" only vet. Thats quite the price difference now matter how you look at it.

marko

January 14th, 2013, 02:52 PM

Hi end user - We are going back about 10 years but 10 years ago my mom's cat needed a (whole leg) leg amputation for the same reason as you, and at that time it was 550. at the emergency animal hospital in Montreal.

Given that it's been a decade, 869. seems reasonable to me. 4000. seems outrageous for this type of surgery imo.

:goodvibes::goodvibes: to you and your cat.

end user

January 14th, 2013, 04:33 PM

Hi

I was expecting up to $2k for the amputation and would have spend 4K if that was the going rate for amputations.

Now I did like the service of this vet and the fact that they specialized in felines. They did a pretty long consultation on the surgery and especially with pain management but I'm not willing to pay 4-5x more the average going rare because they specialize in cats.

The price you've been quoted is high, for sure. You might want to seek out a different vet.

My cat, Fang, had his front left leg amputated about two months ago because of a tumor in his shoulder. I am looking for the bills (a few others have asked about price) but I would say, in the end, I spent about $2,000 ish all together. This included two X-Rays (one to see the tumor, and other to check his lungs for cancer spread), the surgery, and a night stay at the vets. Also we had pain medications, and Gabapentin to administer to him before the surgery (to prevent phantom limb pain in the future). We really went "all out" for him, and we didn't go anywhere near $4,000. And I would have spent that, so it didn't have anything to do with me looking for cheaper prices.

So yeah, a different vet might be the best option. Do note, though, that there are some major differences in the way that vets treat pain and you want to find a vet that will try to prevent pain from occurring rather than just treating the pain once it has occurred. This will make a huge difference in recovery and your cat's life after surgery, and many vets don't have that perspective. It's kind of scary. Talk to your vet at length about it before the surgery.

If you want to know more about Fang's amputation, check out the blog I set up to help people in what is a really scary process: http://cldavis.tripawds.com/ . You'll also find the blogs of two other kitty amputation (rear leggers, rather than front leggers) on the links to the right of that blog. Let me know if you have any questions! It's scary but it's totally worth it in the end.

Oh, about keeping the stub of the other leg -- A lot of vets remove the WHOLE leg to prevent the kitty from damaging himself/herself, etc. I have talked to a few owners who kept the remainder of the legs, and the cat's seem to be fine. Fang cannot easily clean the left side of his face without using other misc objects (furniture, floor), and he probably would be able to do so if he had some arm left. However, I would worry about him getting it caught in something, cutting it open, or who knows what. Really cat's do so amazingly well on three legs, you probably don't need to worry no matter which you choose.